The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Whereas numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
